Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) defended a law he signed this week that will require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms.
Joining Fox News’s Sandra Smith Friday for his first interview since signing the bill into law Wednesday, Landry said he believes in displaying a historical document, “especially something that is as important as the Ten Commandments,” in schools.
“Look, when the Supreme Court meets, the doors of the Supreme Court on the backside have the Ten Commandments. Moses faces the U.S. Speaker of the House in the House chamber. He is the original giver of law,” Landry said. “Most of our laws in this country are founded on the Ten Commandments, what’s the big problem? And that’s the part I don’t understand.”
According to the new law, the signs must be in “large, easily readable font” and posted in public school classrooms by the beginning of 2025. The posters will also have a three-paragraph statement explaining that the Ten Commandments have been a prominent part of American education.
The move has already sparked criticism and legal challenges. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said it plans to file a lawsuit challenging the Louisiana law because it is “blatantly unconstitutional” and violates the “separation of church and state.”
Landry pushed back on the criticism, telling Smith that he “didn’t know that living the Ten Commandments is a bad way to live life.”
“I mean, look, this country was founded on Judeo Christian principles and every time we steer away from that, we have problems in our nation,” he said.
Landry said schools across the country “basically treat kids like critters.”
Smith pushed back on Landry’s accusation about American education, noting that public school students in Louisiana are struggling and the state’s low-ranking education system is “failing these kids.”
Landry said he signed “a string” of other bills Wednesday — 18 others under his “Dream Big” Education Plan — that would “reform Louisiana schools” like other states have done in the past.